Knitting machine



Oct. 14,1941. I A. V. CLARKE 2,258,927

KNITTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 22, 1937 Q'Sheets-Sheet 1 In venlor Oct. 14,1941. A v. CLARKE KNITTING MACHINE 9 sheets-sheet 2 Filed Nov. 22, 19:57

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Re E ATTORNEYS 1 0a. 14, 1941. A. v. CLARKE 2,258,927

' KNITTING MACHINE r Filed Nov. 22, 1937 .QSheeits-Sheet 5 Fig.5.

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Inventor Attorney Oct. 14, 1941. CLARKE 2,258,927

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, Alto ney Oct. 14, 1941. A, v, LARKE 2,258,927

KNITTINGMMACHINE FiledNov. 22, 1957 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 4770mm rs A. v.CLARKE KNITTING MACHINE Filed Nov. 22, 1937 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 PatentedOct. 14, 1941 Albert Victor Clarke, Leicester, England ApplicationNovember 22, 1937, Serial No. 175,943

In Great Britain November 23, 1936 17 Claims.

This invention is for improvements in orrelating to circular knittingmachines, and one of its objects is to provide a machine capable ofknitting a tubular length of rib fabric (by which is meant fabricincluding needleloops drawn in g opposite directions) and, contiguoustherewith, a further tubular length of plainfabric (the expression plainbeing employed as the opposite of rib.) A further object is to providemeans whereby the plain fabric may be patterned with equal facilityas inan ordinary plain'knitting machine. In this connection it may beexplained that while it is possible to knit contiguous lengths of riband plain fabric (e. g. a stocking or sOck having 'a ribbed top and aplain leg) on a circular machine of the opposed cylinder type the scopeof such a machine, as regards patterning the plain fabric by yarnchanges or reverse plating, is very restricted. One disadvantage is thatat each yarn change the loose ends are exposed at the outside of thefabric, and another is that floating threads float at the outside of thefabric instead of at the inside.

The invention is based upon the fact that if one of the cylinders(preferably the topone) to apply to the other cylinder a more elaborateand effective arrangement of interchangeable yarn feeders, and thereforethe invention pro- 25 is moved to an inoperative position it is possiblevides a circular knitting machine of the kind. having opposed cylindersand double ended needles arranged to knit fabric upon needles of bothcylinders, and having means for displacing one cylinder to aninoperative position and for knitting plain fabric upon the needles ofthe other cylinder. If however, one cylinder is to be moved alternatelyinto and out of operative position, so

as to render the machine capable of knitting allternate lengths of riband plain fabric, such movements must in practice be effected withoutupsetting the phase relationship between the movements of the needles inthe two cylinders. In other words, not only must the needle tricks inthe one cylinder be aligned, after such move ment, with the same tricksin the other cylinder ment, but particularly in the case of a rotatingcam box machine the knitting cams of the two cylinders must be in thesame relation, Otherwise the needles in one cylinder would be prowithwhich they were aligned before such move- ,iected and retracted in aknitting wave, by the knitting cams, at the wrong location with respectto the thread feeder and the knitting wave of the other cylinder.Therefore the inventionmay be regarded as being broadlyapplicable to acircular'knitting machine of the type comprising a needle bed,relatively movablecams, an instrumentbed for an arcuate series ofinstruments, instruments in said second bed for coopcrating with theneedles, relatively movable cams forsaid instruments, and means for'effecting relative movement between the needle bed' and its cams andbetween the instrument bed and its cams. and for effecting an in phasemovement of said needles and instruments in knitting. Such a machine ishereinafterreferred to in this specification and, in the appended claimsas a circular knitting machine of the type specified, and as viewedfrornone aspect this invention provides,

in a circular knitting machine of'the type specified, a mounting for theinstrument bed and its cams upon which said bed is movable into and outof register with the, needlebed, and means for. maintaining said phaserelation subsequent to such movement.

In such a machine (assuming for the'sakeof convenience in descriptionthat the needle bed is a cylinder), there must be a driving connectionbetween the needle cylinder and the instrument bed in the case of arotating cylinder machine,

or betweenthe cams for the needle cylinderfand the cams. for theinstrument bed in the 'case of a rotating cam box machine (in an opposedcylinder machine,it is usual to rotate the cylindersand the connectioninclu'des a vertical shaft geared to the two cylinders). According to asubsidiary feature of this invention the phase relationship ismaintained by moving the instrument bed without breaking this drivingconnection, and

this is best effected by moving the instrument bed about a rotatableand/or oscillatable drive member included in said driving connection.

This movement about the drive member may be effected under the drivingpower of the machine by providing meansfor temporarily preventing orplacing restraint upon relative movement between the instrument bed andits cams;

the reaction of the intertooth pressure (if driving gears are employed)then causes the said bed and its cams to swing bodily about the drivemember, if they are free to move in this manner.

Advantageously the said means comprises a friction clutch or brake, anda releasable catch is provided to permit such bodily movement only atthe desired time. 7

It will not, in general, be found practicable for the instrument bed andits cams to make .a complete revolution about the axis of the gear inmoving from operative position and back to it again, but only anoscillating movement, over an arc of a circle. Therefore if the movementis eifected under power, it is desirable that the non-displaceableneedle bed, or its cams as the case may be, shall be rotating in onedirection during movement of the instrument bed and cams to inoperativeposition and in the reverse direction during the reverse movement tooperative position. Suitable means may be incorporated in the machinefor this purpose; more specifically power means may be provided fordisplacing the instrument bed and cams in one direction duringrotational movement and In the reverse direction during reciprocatorymovement.

According to an important subsidiary feature 5 of the invention asapplied to an opposed cylinder machine, a battery of interchangeableyarn feeders is provided for the non-displaceabl'e cylinder, movablewith the displaceable' cylinder into operative association with thefirst-said cylinder as the displaceable cylinder is moved to inoperativeposition and vice versa.

In order that the invention may be better understood a preferredembodiment thereof as applied to knitting machines of the opposed g5cylinder kind will now be described in detail by way of example, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sideelevational view of the top portion of said machine;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the lower portion of said machine,looking from the opposite side thereof;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the needle cylinders, 7 showing the topcylinder swung out of' register with the bottom cylinder;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view through said cylinders and thedriving mechanism therefor,

taken approximately on the plane indicated by a the line 4--4 of Fig. 3looking in the direction of the arrows, the cylinders however beingshown in register;

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the machine, with the cylindersout of register as in Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating certain of the timingmechanism shown in Figs. 2 and 5;

Fig. '7 is a diagrammatic perspective view of *1 the gearing for drivingthe cylinders;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional View of the change speed gearingemployed;

Fig. 9 is a sectional elevational view of certain of the parts shown inFig. 8, as seen from the right of said figure; and

Fig. 10 is a plan View, on an enlarged scale, of certain of the gearingshown in Fig. 2.

The machine illustrated has two superimposed cylinders I0, I! equippedwith sliders whereby I.

double ended needles may be operated from cam boxes associated witheither cylinder to form rib or plain loops, and having selectingmechanism to determine which type of loop is drawn machines usually haverotating cylinders and this construction is preferably adopted in thepresent invention, although the said invention is equally applicable torotating cam box machines. The stationary cam box I2 of the uppercylinder III is supported from an upper plate 5 ment is adopted. Itsouter end is forked to reor flange I3 and the needle cylinder isrotatable inside it. For this purpose the said cylinder I0 is providedwith a gear I4 meshing with a pinion I5 adjustable at the upper end of avertical drive shaft I6, which at its lower end is geared to the bottomcylinder II and to the mechanism I4 and I5 for rotating andreciprocating it. In this manner the two cylinders are rotated andreciprocated in unison. Usually in such machines the top plate issupported upon two diametrically opposed upright pillars. According tothe present invention, however, the said plate is not supported directlyfrom these pillars, but rests upon a support ring H which is secured topillars I8, I9 and I9 and is concentric with the gears of the verticalshaft I6, and the said cylinder I0 and cam box I2, and the feed plate20' associated therewith, are movable upon the support ring I'Isubstantially about the axis of the said. shaft I6. The purpose of thisarrangement is to permit the upper cylinder and cam box to beswung'laterally to an inoperative position (Fig. 3) after for examplethe ribbed top of a stocking or the like has been knitted on needles ofboth cylinders, to expose the bottom cylinder (which is preferablyequipped with outside sinkers 2| as in a plain circular machine) and topermit the said bottom cylinder to continue knitting plain fabric suchfor example as the leg and foot of the stocking or the like.

0 Conventional means indicated at 22 are provided, controlled from thecamv drum or chain of the machine, for moving into the bottom cylinderall the needles required for plain work preparatory to displacing theupper cylinder, and at 23 for lowering the sliders of the upper cylindertoan inoperative track. The rocker for operating said means 23 is shownat 23 in Figs. 2 and 3.

Because the top cylinder moves about the axis of the vertical driveshaft I6 its gear I4 is always in meshwith the pinion I5 on the saidshaft and the phase relation between the two cylinders Ill, II, ismaintained. While this shifting movement may be effected by hand, meansmay be provided according to this invention for effecting it by power.The said means conveniently comprises mechanism for placing a resilientor frictional restraint upon the rotation of the upper cylinder withinits cam box. Secured to the top of the upper cylinder I0 there is ahollow projecting sleeve 24 having rotatabiy mounted thereon members 25and 25. The member 26 is formed with two diametrically opposedprojections 28 received in arcuate slots 27 in a member 21 which issecured to the sleeve 24, each projection 28 being received within theappropriate slot between two compression springs 29 and 30. Theperiphery of the member 26 is formed at one point with a recess or slot33, and there is a key or tongue 3I slidably mounted on the member 25and biassed towards the member by the spring 32. The end of the member25 is forked at 25I to receive the upper end of the driving shaft I6.Hence, when the tongue 3| is engaged in the slot 5 33 of member 26 atemporary restraint is placed on the rotation of the upper cylinder andthe latter is caused to swing. Any shock caused by the engagement of thetongue is taken up by the compression springs, and when the uppercylinder reaches its appointed position and is brought to rest byresilient stops 58 and 59, any delay in withdrawing the tongue merelyserves to compress the springs further.

For moving the key 3| the following arrangeceive a flat cam member '34which is mounted upon a compression spring 35 in the top of the driveshaft l6 and co-operates with'a pin '35 transfixing the forked end ofthe key. Hence-- when said cam 34 is depressed by means ofa rocker 36and push rod 31 from the drum 189 of the machine the key 3| is drawnoutwards andis disengaged from member'26, and'when said cam 34 ispermitted to rise the key moves inwards towards said member 26.Additionally-a locking plunger 40, secured to a rocker 4|,"i's providedfor locking the cylinder in either of its two extreme positions. Suchplunger is'operated at the appropriate times from the drum I89 of thema-' chine, by means of push rod M when the top cylinder is in itsoperative position and by-mea'ns of rocker MI and push rod I41 when thetop. cylinder is in itsdisplaced'position. 1 I

The top plate i3 may be pivoted upon the'vertical drive shaft Hi. This,however, introduces difliculties when-it is desired to adjust themesh ofthe drive gears l4 and i5. In'the construction illustrated the driveshaft is housed within -'a ver-' tical standard I40 having at its upper'end a journal It! upon whichthe top plate l3 takes a pivotal bearing.The upper'end of the standard is bored concentrically with thejournal M1and accommodates a bush I G2 which bush'forms a bearing for the driveshaft. The said bush is, however, a clearance fit in its bore in thestandard. It has a flange 142 provided with two diametrically opposedslots I43 through which's et screws I44 extend into'the material of thestandard. Hence by slackng off the set screws, the bush M2 may be movedin'the standard, and the upper end of the drive shaft may be'caused toapproach or recede from the upper cylinder to adjust'the mesh of thegear teeth without anyvariation in the distance between the axis of thecylinder and the axis about which the latter is' displacing. The virtueof this arrangement is thatirr'e'spective of the drive shaft adjustmentthe cylinders will always register themselves accuratelyand the trickswill always be in alignment when the top cylinder is in the operativeposition. The adjustment may be governed by screw [45.

A similar adjustment may be provided for the gears of the drive shaftand the'bottom cylinder as illustrated in Fig. 4. 1

As is usual in opposed cylinder machines a feeder plate 20 is providedatta'chedto the cam box l2 of the top cylinder, and the arrangementaccording to this invention is such that movement to the inoperativeposition carries this feeder plate away from the bottom cylinder ll.

Movement of the top cylinder such that the feeder plate would passacross the bottom cylinder is impracticable, for in such movement thefeeder plate would foul the needles of the bottom cylinder. Y

Viewed in plan the rotation of the cylinders is anti-clockwise, but themovement of the top cylinder to inoperative position is anti-clockwisealso. Therefore while it is possible to move the top cylinder into theoperative position during rotational movement it is not possible to moveit to inoperative position during rotational movement. For this purposethe clutch aforesaid and the release mechanism are so timed from thedrum or other control of the machine that the cylinder is moved to theinoperative position during the clockwise swing of the bottom cylinderas in reciprocating knitting. Actually, knitting is suspended while thetop cylinder is being moved. Assuming that the product, such as a ribtop stocking, is knitted from the top downwards, the top cylinder ismoved into register after the finish of the toe of the preceding articleand at the commencement of the rib top. It is moved to the inoperativeposition at the termination of the 1 x 1 orother ribbed top andafter therib needles have been transferred down from the top cylinder to thebottom and after all the needles have been taken down to an idle trackin the bottom cylinder.

Preparatory to moving the top cylinder to inoperative position theneedles in the bottom cylinder that are required for plain knitting areretracted to a low track and hold their loops. The thread runningthroughthe feeder-plate 20 to the last-formed loop on said needles iscarried round by rotation of the bottom cylinder and is swept into atrapper and cutter contained in the interior of the top cylinder (andindicated at 42). As the feeder plate is thus rendered inoperative upondisplacement of the top cylinder it is necessary to provide at least oneother feeder for plain knitting. According to a feature of thisinvention a battery l3'of interchangeable feeders is provided. Thesefeeders are pivotally mounted about a horizontal axis attached to asupport 45 which is swung into the operative position when the topcylinder isswung to the inoperathe top cylinder 10. A stop 48 isprovided for operating each with a row of pins or studs in a pin drum 50or its equivalent, the said pin drum being 'rackedby suitable mechanismat the appropriate intervals to raise and lower the feeders selectivelyinto and out of operation to pattern the plain fabric produced on thebottom cylinder. According to an important subsidiary feature of thisinvention the feeders are so arranged that when in the raisednon-feeding position their yarn-guiding eyes lie to the inside of theneedle circle, and in downward movement to the feeding position the eyesswing outwards across the needle circle. Thus in making intricatepatterns by yarn changes, the floating threads extend at the inner 'faceof the fabric, as'in a plain knitting machine, and loose ends (producedif the yarn is trapped and out) are exposed at the inside and not at theoutside. Trappin'g and cutting mechanism 5! is mounted on' the latchguard ring 45. 9

While it is possible so to arrange the pin levers 49 that they do notobstructthe movement of the top'cylinder into and outof operativeposition the arrangement of the feeders and their movement en ,masseinto operative association with the levers is facilitated if the ends ofsaid pin levers that engage thefeeders. project upwards to a level somelittle distanceiabovethe sinker ring. In this'position the said .pinlevers do obstruct the movement of the top cylinderandtherefore meansindicated at52 are provided, operated at the appropriate times from thedrum of the machine, for pulling all the pin levers down when it isdesired to move the top cylinder (such movement of the levers liftingtheir pin-engaging ends away from the pin drum) In superimposed cylindermachines the vertical drive shaft usually rotates at twice the speed ofthe cylinders. For the purposes of this invention the gearing is suchthat the drive shaft [6 rotates 1 times the speed of the cylinders sothat the angular speed of movement of the top cylinder to and from theinoperative position is 1 times the angular speed of the bottom cylinderabout its own axis. Even so, at the ordinary knitting speed which isconveniently in the order of 180 R. P. M, this movement is more rapidthan is desirable and therefore means are provided for effecting areduction of the driving speed for moving the top cylinder, and theappropriate speed changes are controlled by the control mechanism of themachine.

In the preferred construction evolved for this purpose the main shaft60, which carries a bevel gear 68' driving the bottom cylinder, isdriven through equal gears 81, 88, see Figs. 7 and 10, from a lay shaft6|, and on this lay shaft there is an epicyclic change-speed gear (Fig.8). This lay shaft 6! carries a sleeve 62 freely rotatable thereon andformed with a sun wheel 63 at one end; at the other end of the sleevethere is a small pinion 64. Also rotatable upon this sleeve there is abelt pulley 65, having a set of dogs 66 by which it may be connected tothe sleeve 62 by the sliding member 61 of a dog clutch, the said memberbeing keyed to the sleeve and movable by hand lever IG'I. It is to thisbelt pulley that the drive from the electric motor or the like employedto drive the machine is appliedand according to the position of, theclutch member 61 the pulley 65 rotates idly or is dogged to the sleeve.

Freely rotatable upon the lay shaft Bl there. is

a disc 68 carrying a stub or. journal'69 upon which is mounted a planetpinion l meshing with the sun wheel 63 and, fixed to the planet pinion,a smaller planet gear H. meshes with a sun wheel 12 keyed to the layshaft 6|. At the remote side of the disc from the gears just mentionedthere is a ratchet wheel 13, also keyed to the lay shaft 6|, while uponthe latter there is a sliding bluff M which blufi consists of a drumhaving a portion of its periphery cut away so that, according to itsaxial position on the lay shaft, it either covers or uncovers theratchet teeth and either permits a pawl 15 on the disc to engagetherewith or prevents it from engaging. Looking upon the right hand endof the lay shaft in Fig. the direction of rotation of the belt pulley B5is clockwise as indicated by the arrow and the pawl points in ananti-clockwise direction. Additionally the periphery of the disc isprovided with a projection 16 with which a catch 11, see Fig. 2, isadapted to be engaged to prevent rotation of the disc in a clockwisedirection.

Except when the machine is idle or is being turned by hand, the beltpulley 65 is dogged to the sleeve 62. For direct drive employed inrotational knitting and desirably giving a cylinder speed of 180 R. P.M. the pawl is permitted to engage with the ratchet 13. Hence theepicyclic gear rotates as a solid unit. For reciprocatory knitting as inthe production of the heel and toe pouches, and for transferringselected double-ended needles from one cylinder to the This latter otherto change the structure of the fabric during rotational knitting, alower speed is required desirably approximately half. This lower speedis obtained by blufling the pawl 15, and restraining the disc fromrotation by means of the catch. For swinging the top cylinder a stilllower speed is required and this is obtained by releasing the disc; theepicyclic gear is therefore rendered inoperative and the belt pulley 65drives the small pinion, 64. This pinion 64 is connected by an idler toalarge pinion 19 on shaft 88 below the lay shaft, and this shaft is inturn connected by a pinion to the large gear 8| that carries the crank82 for oscillating the quadrant 83. The said gear 8| also meshes withthe gear 84 on the lay shaft 6|. The quadrant 83 meshes with the pinion85 freely rotatable upon the main shaft 80. Upon this main shaft thereis a dog clutch 86 by which either the pinion 85 or the gear 8'!previously mentioned (by which the main shaft 60 is arranged to bedriven from the lay shaft 6i) may be dogged to the main shaft accordingto whether rotation or reciprocation is required. This dog clutch ismoved by means of a lever 88' and a cam track on the drum 89.

It is an important feature of the invention that the large gear 19 isprovided with a free wheel device. This'is because when the knittingspeed is reduced for transferring or reciprocatory knitting the shaft 80on which the large gear is mounted tends to rotate in the same directionas said gear but at a. higher speed.

The sliding bluff l4 and the catch 11 are operated by control surfacesmounted on a disc 90 at the end of the drum shaft 9|. Two series ofcontrol surfaces are provided, an inner series and an outer series, theouter series consists of three projections 92 protruding from the faceof the disc and arranged to engage a pin 93 at the end of a lever 94 andto rock that lever about a vertical axis. This lever engages with thebluff M and therefore slides it along the lay shaft iii. The innerseries consists of two projections 95 adapted to engage a pin 96 at theend of another lever 91 and to rock that lever about a horizontal axis;this lever is integral with the catch 11 and therefore moves it to holdthe disc 58 or to free it. Additionally, upon the first lever 94 thereis a ramp 94 so arranged that when that lever 94 is moved by one of theprojections of the outer series it depresses the end of the other lever91, the arrangement being such that whenever the bluff 14 is moved topermit the pawl 15 to engage the ratchet wheel 13 the catch 11 is movedto free the disc. The arrangement is also such that throughout the majorportion of the period during which the ratchet wheel is bluifed thecatch 11 is engaged with the disc 68 but is released at appropriateintervals by the projections of the second series.

The movements imparted to these levers by the projections on the discare of course co-related with the movements imparted to the dog clutch86 upon the main shaft 60 because while the lowest speed is necessaryduring rotational knitting to move the top cylinder into operativeposition it is also necessary during oscillation of the bottom cylinderto move the top cylinder to the inoperative position. The disc 90, whichis fixed to the drum shaft 9|, is provided with ratchet teeth I02 and isracked by means of the pawl I82. This pawl comprises a part that isslidable in a member I03 pivoted about the axis of the crank 82.Securedto said crank 82 and to the gear 8| there is a cam I04 whichpropels ease-92v the pawl I02 in the member I03 so that the pawl pushesthe ratchet disc. 90 round instead of hooking it round, the inner end ofthe pawl being biassed into engagement with the cams I04 by a springI04. The racking of the disc is controlled by a bell-crank-lever IOIco-operating with the chain I00, which chain is mounted on a sprocketI05 at the outer end of the drum shaft 9| where it is readilyaccessible. The drum itself is racked by a pawl I06 connected to thequadrant shaft and co-operating with a drum ratchet I01. The chain isracked by a like pawl which co-operates with a chain ratchet I09.Alongside said chain ratchet I09 there is a buffing disc IIO forensuring that the chain is not racked'at every motion on the pawl I08.

The machine is provided with a trap door I3I (Fig. 1) in the cam boxthrough which the sliders may be inspected or withdrawn. This trap dooris diametrically opposite the knitting point. A handle I32 is alsoprovided so that the machine may be turned over by hand. In previousmachines this handle has been placed at the right hand side; forexample, the outer 'end of one of the shafts shown in Fig. 2. Such alocation renders it impossible for the operator while turning thehandle, to see both the knitting point and the inspection trap for thepurposes of examination while the machine is being turned over manually.In the present machine the handle I32 is located at the front of themachine (Fig. 5) so that while it is being used the operator may inspectwith the utmost facility either the trap or the knitting point. The saidhandle is secured to the front end of the horizontal shaft I33 which isgeared by bevel gearing I34 and I35 to the shaft 00, which shafthas aconstant direction of rotation. In order that the handle shall notrotate while the machine is being driven by power a free wheel deviceindicated at I38 is included in the bevel gear,l.35.

I claim:

1. In a knitting machine having a needle bed and needles therein;relatively movable cams for actuating said needles, aninstrumentbedprovided with instruments arranged for cooperation with the needles,relatively movable means for operating said instruments, and drivingmeans for effecting relative movement between the needle bed and itscams and between the instrument bed and the instrument-moving means,wherein the instrument bed is displaceable into and out of operativeassociation with the needle bed under power applied through said drivingmeans, means for placing a restraint upon the relative movement betweensaid instrument bed and the instrument-moving means, for effecting saiddisplacement.

2. In the combination claimed in claim 1, tw relatively movable membersone of which partakes of the relative movement between said instrumentbed and instrument-moving means, spring-means interposed between saidmembers, and means for restraining said other member from moving withthe first and forthereby stressing said spring means.

3. In a circular knitting machine having two needle beds, cams therefor,and means foreffecting relative movement between each needle bed and itscams in knitting, and wherein one needle bed is movable under power intoand out of register with the other, the combination of means for placinga temporary restraint upon the relative movement of said displaceablebed and able locating means for locating the displaceable .bed in itsdisplaced position, and timing mechanism for terminating said restraintwhen the locating means is brought into operation and for releasing saidlocating means when the restraint is applied.

4. In a circula'r'knitting machine of the type comprising ,a needle bedprovided with needles, actuating cams for said needles, an instrumentbed, having an arcuate series of instruments arranged for cooperationwith said needles, actuating cams for said instruments, and means foreffecting relative movement between the needle bed andits cams andbetween the instrument bed and its cams to produce cooperating movementsof said needles and instruments; a mounting for the instrument bed andits cams upon which said bed is, movable into and out of register withthe needle bed; driving connections for effecting the aforesaid relativemovements, which driving connections are unbroken during displacement ofthe instrument bed; at least one thread feeder for feeding thread to theneedles of the needle bed when the instrument bed is in itsdisplacedposition, which feeder has a feeding eye; and means for movingsaid feeder between a feeding position in Which said eye lies at oneside of the needles and a non-feeding position in which said eye lies atthe other side of said needles.

5. In a circular knitting machine of the type comprising a needle bedprovided with needles, actuating cams for said needles, an instrumentbed having an arcuate series of instruments arranged for cooperationwith said needles, actuating cams for said instruments, and means foreifecting relative movement between the needle bed and its cams andbetween the instrument bed and its cams to produce cooperating movementsof said needles and instruments; driving connections for effecting theaforesaid relative movements, which connections include a drive membeerfor making movements of at least partial rotation; a mounting for saidinstrument bed on which the latter is displaceable into and out ofregister with the needle bed about the drive member; a latch guard forthe needles, means for moving said latch guard to operative position asthe instrument bed is displaced out of regisits cams, thereby to efiectdisplacement, rel'easter and for, moving it to an inoperative'positionas said bed is moved into register; and means for feeding yarn to theneedles when said instrument bed is out of register, said machine beingarranged to knit both when the instrument bed is in register and whileit is out of register.

6. A machine according to claim 4, wherein'the driving connectionsinclude means for displacing the instrument bed. r

7. In a circular knitting machine having a needle bed provided withneedles, relatively movable needle-operating cams therefor, aninstrument bed provided with an arcuate series of instruments,relatively movable instrument operating cams, a mounting for theinstrument bed and its cams on which said bed is movable out of and intooperative association with the needle bed; thread-feeding means arrangedto feed thread to the needles of the needle bed when said-instrument bedis in its operative position and when it is displaced; means forproducing relative movement between the needle bed and its cams inknitting when the instrument bed is in its operative position and alsowhen it is displaced; means for producing relative movement between theinstrument bed and its cams when said bed is in its operative positionand for thereby effecting. co-cperating movements, in timed relation,between the needles and instruments, and means for placing a temporaryrestraint upon relative movement between the instrument bed and its camsand for thereby effecting said displacement of the instrument bed.

8. In a circular knitting machine according to claim 4, means fordriving at a lesser speed when moving the instrument bed than whenknitting.

9. In a rib knitting machine of the type comprising a pair of alinedneedle beds each provided with a series of needles, cams for actuatingeach series of needles, and means for effecting relative movementbetween said needle bed and their cams to produce co-operating movementsbetween the two series of needles, the combination of means fordisplacing one needle bed but of register with the other; means for thenknitting plain fabric on the needles of said other bed; and a battery ofinterchangeable yarn feeders for said other bed.

10. In a circular knitting machine of the type comprising a pair ofnormally alined needle beds each provided with a series of needles,actuating cams for each series of needles, and means for effectingrelative movement between each needle bed and its cams to produceco-operating movements between the two series of needles, thecombination of means for displacing one needle bed register; and meansfor making selections from 1 among said feeders of the battery when thelatter is in said operative association.

11. In a rib knitting machine of the type comprising a pair of normallysuperposed needle beds each provided with a series of needles, actuatingcams for each needle series, and means'for effecting relative movementbetween each nee'dle bed and its cams to produce cooperating move mentsof said needles; the combination'means for displacing one needle bed outof register with the other; means for feeding a plurality of'yar-ns tothe needles of said other bed; means for operating said needles to knitnon-rib fabric while said one bed is out of register; and means forpatterning said fabric while being produced.

12. In a circular knitting machine, a needle bed provided with a seriesof needles; a" second needle bed also provided with a series of needles,and mounted for movement into and out of register with said first bed;actuating cams for each series of needles; means for effecting relativemovement between each needle bed and its cams to produce co-operatingmovements of the needles of the two series when said beds are inregister; a feeder having a thread guide, arranged to feed thread to theneedles of said first bed; a displaceable mounting for said feeder,arranged to move it between a position away from said first needle bedand a position in which it is in operative association with said firstbed when said second bed is out of register; and means for moving saidfeeder, when in said operative a.- sociation, to carry its guide from anon-feeding position at the back of, to a feeding position at the frontof, the needles of said first bed.

13. A circular knitting machine according to claim 10, having trappingand cutting mechanism displaoeable with the second needle bed, and othertrapping and cutting mechanism displaceable with the battery of feeders.

14. In an opposed cylinder circular knitting machine having two opposedneedle cylinders provided with needles, cams for operating said needles,and a drive member establishing a driving connection for effectingrelative movements between the cylinders and their cams, wherein onecylinder is capable of displacement into and outof register with theother cylinder about said drive member while maintaining the drivingconnection unbroken, said machine being arranged to knit fabric upon theneedles of said other cylinder while the first is displaced, thecombination. of .a battery of interchangeable feeders for the needles ofthe non-displaceable cylinder; means for moving said feeders intooperative association with said non-displaceable cylinder as the firstcylinder is displaced out of register, and vice versa; means foreffecting selections from among said feeders when in said association;trapping and cutting mechanism for said feeders; external sinkers forthe needles of the non-displaceable cylinder; a mounting for saidsinkers; and means for operating them.

15 In an opposed cylinder circular knitting machine having two opposednedle cylinders provided with needles, cams for operating said needles,and a drive member establishing a driving connection for effectingrelative movements between the cylinders and their cams, wherein onecylinder is capable of displacement into and out of register with theother about said drive member while maintaining the driving connectionunbroken, which machine is organized to knit fabric upon the needles ofsaid other cylinder while the first is displaced, the combination of abattery of interchangeable feeders for the needles oftheno'n-displaceable cylinder; means for moving said feeders intooperative association with said non-displaceable cylinder as the firstcylinder is displaced out of register, and vice versa; means foreffecting selections from among said feeders when in said association;trapping and cutting mechanism for said feeders; and means for movingthedrive member at a less speed in displacing the cylinder than inknitting.

16 In a machine according to claim 15, capable of knitting by rotationand by reciprocation and wherein the first-said cylinder is displaceableunder power applied by said drive member and the cylinders are equippedwith double ended needles transferable between the cylinders when thelatter are in register, means for displacing the first cylinder in onedirection during rotation of the non-displaceable cylinder and formoving it in the reverse direction during reciprocation of thenon-displaceable cylinder.

17. In a circular knitting machine of the kind having opposed needlecylinders and double ended needles therein and arranged to knit fabricupon needles of bothcylinders, the combination with a mounting for onecylinder upon which said cylinder is displaceable out of register withthe other, of means for knitting plain or'fnonrib fabric upon theneedles of the other cylinder while said one cylinder is out ofregister-therewith.

A. V. CLARKE.

